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People with high autistic tendencies see the world very differently
I once viewed an ABC health program where an eminent psychologist was commenting on different levels of the autistic spectrum. In particular, she referred to people who had Asperger’s Syndrome and how they all seemed to have high IQ’s and an obsession with specific detail. Her punch line was that many of these people had…
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Break your own rules
My friend Sam is an avid golfer. He plays every chance he gets. He also makes a practice of working out at the gym on weekends, and prefers to get an early start there. One Saturday, the forecast called for a warm and sunny morning with heavy rain developing by noon. Still, Sam kept to…
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Collaboration- What does it mean for health professions?
The new “buzz” word floating around the health professions is “collaboration”. In the same breath it is linked to other expressions such as “patient-centred homes” or “patient-centred neighbourhoods”. But what does it all mean – particularly when referenced in respect of community pharmacy? Starting with the dictionary terminology we find collaboration means: 1. “the action…
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You can’t win if your head is not in the game
The late Yogi Berra was playing in the minor leagues for the Newark Bears before joining the New York Yankees for his Hall-of-Fame career. His manager told him not to swing at balls out of the strike zone. The manager said, “Yogi, next time you’re up, think about what you’re doing.” Yogi said, “I struck…
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Taking the Initiative with Co-Pay
Chemist Warehouse, as you would have imagined, has taken the initiative to discount the co-pay for PBS prescriptions by $1.00. The impact on a retail pharmacy like the warehouse model is not quite the same as for a community pharmacy, because budgets for retail pharmacies are geared for lower profit percentages combined with higher turnover…
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A Home Doesn’t Need to Have a Single Roof – Because it Might Need to be a Neighbourhood
The “buzz words” floating around the newly discovered world of primary health care are “Patient-Centred Homes”, a concept where a focus is generated on a patient through a triage process where patients are provided an efficient sequential introduction to the health resource most required by those patients under the one roof. Results to date in…
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Shopping
In this ever-changing world we have constant disruption. Beliefs that we once held for marketing concepts are forever changing as consumers react to the environment around them. And the online environment, while having many presentations and converts, is an environment that community pharmacists have yet to fully embrace and conquer. Particularly in the portrayal of…
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Give your self-confidence the boost you need
Walt Disney used to talk about the four Cs to success in life – curiosity, confidence, courage and consistency. He believed that if you applied these four Cs to your life, you could accomplish practically anything. But there was one C that Walt said was the greatest of all – confidence. He said, “When you…
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Antibiotics – are we doing out bit?
Reduced antibiotic prescribing is associated with lower patient satisfaction on the national General Practice Patient Survey, according to a new study by King’s College London. The NHS GP Patient Survey is a component of the NHS Quality Outcomes Framework that informs GP’s pay-for-performance. Do we support our local GP’s decision not to prescribe an antibiotic?…
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How to thrive and not choke in pressure situations
Last spring I was playing a great game of golf. I stood on the 18th tee, and with a birdie on the par 5 final hole, I would shoot an even par 72. I pulled out my driver one last time. Having hit 13 good drives in a row, I was super excited about telling…